Star Wars: Zero Company Is Not XCOM, but I Have a Good Feeling About This

August 11, 2026 - 21:51

I got my hands on the opening hours of the new Star Wars tactics game, Zero Company, and I walked away with a genuinely good feeling. The marketing has been throwing around the XCOM comparison, but that is not quite right. This game is lighter on the spreadsheet management and heavier on character-driven moments, and that is a good thing.

The core loop is familiar. You move squads on a grid, take cover, and manage action points. But the flow feels snappier. There is less time spent agonizing over a 60 percent shot and more time setting up a clever combo between a smuggler and a Jedi. The game clearly wants you to feel like a hero, not a manager.

What surprised me most was the personality. Between missions, you spend time on a small ship, talking to your crew. These conversations are not just filler. They unlock special abilities and change how characters behave in combat. One early choice gave my sniper a passive that rewarded risky positioning, which completely changed how I played the next mission.

The tutorial does not hold your hand forever. By the third mission, it introduces a boss fight that punishes you for playing too safe. You have to push forward, use your environment, and trust your team. That is where the game clicked for me.

It is not XCOM. It is something warmer, more focused on the story of your squad. And for now, that feels like the right call. I am eager to see if the depth holds up over a full campaign, but the start is promising.